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Rights Group Calls on Saudi Government to Disclose Whereabouts of Jordanian Activist

The Saudi government should disclose the whereabouts and condition of a Jordanian activist who was allegedly arrested upon his arrival to Riyadh last January, Human Rights Watch said Friday. The rights watchdog said Saudi security forces detained Khaled al-Natour, 27, at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh on January 6, 2013, and have held him incommunicado for two months.

“Khaled al-Natour’s family has been waiting in agony for two months with no information regarding his fate from Saudi or Jordanian authorities,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Saudi government should immediately disclose his condition and whereabouts, and grant him access to family members and lawyers.”

A spokeswoman for the Jordanian foreign ministry told the Associated Press last month that Jordan has yet to receive a formal response from the Saudi government regarding the detention of al-Natour who is described by HRW as a prominent activist affiliated with a Jordanian youth movement. A family member and local activist told the rights group that they believe that the arrest stems his participation in several anti-Saudi demonstrations in Amman in late 2011.